Senate panel votes to repeal Iraq war authorizations

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday to repeal 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, which provided the legal justification for the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The 14-8 committee vote follows the House vote in June on two separate measures to repeal the decades-old authorizations in June.

The measure now proceeds to the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said he supports the measure and called Wednesday for a floor vote by the end of the year.

“Americans, frankly, are sick of endless wars in the Middle East.” Mr. Schumer said Wednesday. “Congress simply hast to exert more authority over matters of war and peace as we all know the Constitution prescribes.”

The repeal of the AUMFs would be the first rollback of presidential war powers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The committee met twice to consider the measure before taking Wednesday’s vote at the request of several Republican members.

In July, the committee heard testimony from State Department and Pentagon representatives in a closed session.

On Tuesday, the committee heard testimony on the measure from Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and legal advisers from the Departments of Defense and State in an open session.

Ms. Sherman reiterated the Biden administration’s support for the repeal in her testimony.

“President Biden is committed to engaging with Congress on questions of war and peace, and to being transparent about when, where, why and how the United States uses military force,” Ms. Sherman told the committee. “I want to state clearly that the Biden-Harris administration believes the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq has outlived its usefulness and should be repealed.”

President Biden has previously registered his support for appealing the authorizations, arguing that they are outdated.

The administration also has strayed from previous administrations’ tendency to lean on the 2002 AUMF for engagements in the region, citing Article II of the Constitution for airstrikes on Iranian-backed militia fighters in Iraq and Syria in February and June.

Although lawmakers in both parties largely agree that the authorizations are outdated, some Republicans argue that the repeal could send the wrong message amid continued Iranian aggression in the region.

“If we repeal the Iraq authorizations, we need to put something back on the table that is modern, that’s tailored, and that’s limited so we can message clearly to our allies in the Middle East, as well as to our adversaries like Iran, that the United States remains resolved to protect our nation’s interests,” Sen. Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Republican, said Wednesday.

Mr. Hagerty proposed an amendment that would have repealed the 1991 and 2002 authorizations while authorizing the president to defend against, and respond to, attacks by terrorists and state sponsors of terrorism who are operating in Iraq. The amendment failed to pass.

“As a lifelong businessman and a former diplomat, I’m loath to ever unilaterally take our own leverage off the table,” Mr. Hagerty said. “It’s bad negotiating strategy. I’m no fan of unilateral disarmament, particularly in light of an escalation like this. It’s simple. If you take the card off the table, you better get something for it, or you should put another card back down on the table.”

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